North Langley peewees topple previously unbeaten Giants

The playoff-bound North Langley Bears peewee football team put a cap on their regular season by toppling a team of previously undefeated Giants.

The Giants capped their campaign this past Saturday at McLeod Stadium with a 22-12 victory over the no-longer-unbeaten Chilliwack Red Giants.

The win avenged the Bearsâ€™ Thanksgiving Day loss to those same Giants, as North Langley finished with a record of 6-3-1.

They will now face the Blue Giants in Chilliwack in the division semifinal.

The Bears took an early lead on the second play from scrimmage when Marcus Stang broke out to the left and sprinted 49 yards to the end zone.

Stang added a 30 yard touchdown run in the second quarter and a 13-yarder in the third as part of his 167 rushing yards rushing on the day.

Mathieu Gale ran for 70 yards, including three first downs on scoring drives.

Kicker Tyson Hoy split the uprights on two of his three point-after attempts.

The North Langley defence came up big against the Giantsâ€™ league-leading offence.

On five occasions, the Bears forced a turnover on downs, and they also recovered three Chilliwack fumbles.

In the second quarter, a tackle by Jacob Evans on third down ended one Chilliwack drive, and on North Langleyâ€™s next possession, Evans pounced on a loose ball in the backfield.

With the Bears leading 14-6, a bad snap on the Giantsâ€™ opening play of the second half was scooped up by Callum Middleton.

That gave the Bears the ball on the Chilliwack 52, and the resulting drive yielded eight points.

Key tackles by Brandon Folkerts and Jacob Deibert were part of a strong all-around North Langley defensive effort that contained the powerful Giantsâ€™ offence to their lowest point total of the season.

â€“ by Andy Faust

North Langley bantam Bears

The Bears ran the bantam division table, after outscoring the Coquitlam Chargers 45-23 Saturday afternoon to finish the season with a perfect 10-0 record.

Their first place showing means the Bears will have home field advantage for the playoffs.

The Chargers knew they had to shut down North Langley running back Zander Bailey to have any chance of victory.

This task proved too much for them as Bailey turned in another strong performance by chewing up more than 200 yards on the ground to go along with two touchdowns on the day.

What Coquitlam couldnâ€™t anticipate was receiver Andy Hanlen scoring three touchdowns to seal a convincing North Langley victory.

Hanlen first connected with quarterback Jacob Stebbings on a 49 yard pass to open the scoring in the first quarter, and then went 75 yards on a pass thrown by Bailey off an option in the second quarter.

Hanlen ran for his final touchdown when he completely fooled the Chargers, taking a reverse 75 yards into the end zone.

On defence, the Bears proved opportunistic as they forced the Chargers into several turnovers.

Both Ryan Barthelson and Zander Bailey recovered fumbles while Barthelson had a crucial interception deep in Bearsâ€™ territory which he returned 32 yards.

Connor Hurley, Jake Evans, and Pablo Wigwigan led the tenacious North Langley defence in tackles as they consistently thwarted Coquitlamâ€™s efforts to move the football.

The Bears open the playoffs at home against the Mission Niners this Sunday.

â€“ by Chris Hurley

North Langley atom Bears

The Bears closed out their regular season on a winning note, defeating the Chilliwack Blue Giants 24-6 on a foggy Saturday morning.

The Bears played their most consistent game of the season, putting up a major score in each of the four quarters of the game.

Chilliwackâ€™s only score came on a 60 yard kick return touchdown in the third quarter.

The Bearsâ€™ offensive line had a strong game, with big blocks by Alex Figgess, Joshua Hamelin, and Marco Kee.

The Bears now head into the playoffs, hoping to knock out the first place Meadow Ridge Gold Knights on the road.

â€“ by Julie Fennel

North Langley jr. bantam Bears

The Bears finished their season with a 7-0 victory against the Chilliwack Giants this past Saturday at McLeod Stadium.

It all came together for a team that included 11 new players, as they were able to control the ball the entire game.

The first quarter looked a bit shaky for the Bears as they had a couple of fumbles, sacks, and an incomplete pass.

But in the second quarter a huge defensive play was made by Nicholas Triemstra, who blocked a Giantsâ€™ pass, and another when Ben Pascoe sacked the Giants quarterback for a six-yard loss.

The highlight of the game came when Brandon Brynjolfson stretched up to intercept the ball and run 51 yards the other way for a touchdown.

Brynjolfson then carried the ball in himself for the conversion.

Offensively the JB Bears brought their â€œAâ€ game with a number of highlights, including quarterback Micheal Huggins throwing to Jesse Nielsen, who extended his entire body to catch the ball for a 12-yard gain.

Both Ethan Bernardin and Evan Rees found holes created by North Langleyâ€™s blockers, to carry the ball up the middle to gain yardage throughout the game.

Jude Wessel carried the ball and with help from Cadeyrn Bathelson blocking, was able to run for a huge gain.

Bathelson also received a kick and ran 20 yards, only to be hit hard, but recovered nicely.

Ayden Holloway also ran the ball in the fourth quarter and gained substantial yards for a first down.

Alex Ronald had an impact, with an interception early in the fourth quarter, which enabled the Bears to close out the game.